I really don't understand why you rely on second hand information when you can study consciousness first hand. Let me just say that consciousness is the same whether it exists as ascetic saint or a power-hungry politician. That was probably one of the reasons I liked The Last Temptation of Christ--not so much for its depiction of Christ but for its portrayal of Judas. Well, poor Devil really drew the shortest straw. Being not for the fact that that form is hell-bent on not seeing (denying) the reality of how things really are, one would be almost compelled to pity him/her. On the other hand he may be just calmly carrying his cross. Hm, now this was a Judeo-Christian impression :D